Spirit of Patroclus
by starspangledpumpkin
Summary: Dumbledore was wrong. Harry wasn't a horcrux at all and Hermione is not about to let her best friend die.


**Wigtown Wanderers**

**Chaser 1**

**Prompt**: Kill Them - Hermione Granger

**Additional Prompts:** [song] "It's Quiet Uptown" from Hamilton; [quote] "Beware, for I am fearless, and therefore powerful" - Mary Shelley; [quote] "Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything." C.S. Lewis

**Word Count:** 1784

**Warnings:** Death of a major character; illness; violence.

**Universe Alterations:** Harry was not a horcrux.

_There are moments that the words don't reach_

_There's a grace too powerful to name_

_We push away what we can never understand._

_We push away the unimaginable._

"It's Quiet Uptown" from Hamilton

~o0o~

Hermione stared at Harry as he prepared to leave to face Voldemort in the forest.

"You're too important," she said. "And Dumbledore was wrong."

"How do you know?"

"If you had a horcrux inside you I would have seen it," she said. "I can see magic, Harry, that's how I pick up on spells so quickly. It took time to hone it in especially since dark objects are at a low frequency."

Harry pursed his lips and sighed. "But if I don't go… Voldemort will come here and kill everyone. I can't allow that to happen."

"And I can't allow you to die. You'll win by surprising him and by leading everyone else." She gripped her stolen wand in her hand. _"Petrificus Totalus!"_

Harry stiffened and fell back, though his eyes were wide with shock as she bent over him and plucked a hair from his head.

"It's okay," she said and dropped it into a potion bottle. "You'll manage without me. There's a letter in my bag that explains everything."

She drank the polyjuice and as she morphed into Harry, she dragged the real one into a classroom. There, she changed into a set of his clothes from her beaded bag and set it down beside him. She withdrew a letter and placed it in his hand.

"I love you, Harry," she said and placed a spare set of glasses on her nose. "You and Ron both. You deserve a chance at a peaceful life."

She set the wand down and walked out of the classroom. By the time he was discovered, it would be too late.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley raced over to her and placed her hands on her arms. "You don't have to do this! We can find another way."

Hermione looked over at the crowd of fearful faces and somehow the words just came to her.

"The moment I am gone," she said. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters will undoubtedly come here and attempt to kill and capture as many of you as possible. But remember, we are still many! I know you're all exhausted, but I believe in all of you to fight tooth and nail to the very end. Thank you all for fighting today."

She squeezed Mrs. Weasley's hand tightly and walked off towards the Forbidden Forest. She was scared, but she whispered her favorite quote to herself to give her strength to put one foot in front of the other.

"Beware, for I am fearless, and therefore powerful."

She was fearless. She had survived a Troll, video game dungeon-type traps beneath the school, a Basilisk, dementors, the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and this past year on the run. But her time was already running short.

All the power in the world didn't matter when it came to incurable illnesses. When she received her Hogwarts letter and Professor McGonagall saw how ill she was, she had been taken to a Healer. The woman told her the cure would prolong her life but only for as long as she took the potion. As the Death Eaters ran rampant, the Healer had been killed in the fray and nobody knew the recipe for the potion. Her last dose was almost a year ago and she could already feel herself growing weaker.

She wasn't going to waste away in a hospital bed.

She was Hermione Granger. She was going to die as she was born. Silent and pissed off.

As she drew closer, she saw little pockets of magic in the ground vibrating with volatile energy. An idea popped into her head and her mind worked quickly as she realized the type of ground she was standing on. Yes… Fred and George had to test out their more dangerous products somewhere they couldn't be caught and there was enough residual energy that all it needed was a little nudge.

She took a deep breath.

"Beware, for I am fearless, and therefore powerful."

She waved her hand and performed the small bit of wandless magic she knew: the bluebell flames. Hopefully they would be enough. The light itself illuminated the trees and cast ominous shadows. Shivering with fear, she stared straight ahead even when the shadows began to move towards her. The pale faces of the Death Eaters hung half in shadow like ghosts, their eyes as dark and empty as their souls.

Standing there, captured, was Hagrid. He spotted her and struggled against his restraints.

"HARRY!" he cried. "What are you doing here?!"

Voldemort stepped forward and studied her with his red eyes. He too looked almost surprised to see his arch nemesis standing before him. The surprise fell away to cruel delight.

"Harry Potter," he rasped. "The Boy-Who-Lived has come to die."

Hagrid was far enough away. He would be all right.

"Beware," she said loudly. "For I am fearless, and therefore powerful."

The Death Eaters laughed and drew closer, eager to watch the slaughter.

Hermione felt the ground vibrate with excited energy as if drawn to her magic and hungry for the flame in her palm. She stared Voldemort dead in the eye and smiled as she dropped the ball of fire at the exact moment he raised his wand.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

_BOOM!_

Hermione opened her eyes to find herself in what looked like her parent's waiting room at the dentistry. Except this place was a bit darker and warmer. There was an odd sound almost like a heartbeat. Her eyelids felt heavy. This place was so nice. If only she had some clothes. She looked to the side and saw a warm robe hanging on a hook. She wrapped herself up in it and sat down on one of the comfortable leather couches.

She was so tired. Her eyelids drooped. She could have stayed in this comfortable place forever. But then again, it was only a waiting room. To where, she wasn't sure.

The door swung open and Fred entered, grinning from ear-to-ear. He was once more wearing a magenta suit that clashed magnificently with his hair. Hermione smiled in return. In spite of herself, she'd always had a little bit of a crush on the mischief-maker. She admired his wit, ingenuity, and tenacity. She always crushed on people totally wrong for her.

"Hey, Hermione," he said. "Wow, this place is a lot nicer than where I woke up. That place was far too bright."

"Where am I, exactly?" she asked.

"If I had to guess? The waiting room of death." He strolled across the room and took a seat next to her. "I asked to be the one to sit with you. Figured you'd like to see a familiar face."

Hermione smiled.

"Well," she said. "it's a good thing the showdown happened to be where you and George tested your products and that nothing had caught fire there before."

"Good thing," he chuckled and sobered. "Why did you do it? Take Harry's place?"

Hermione gripped her knees.

"I was already dying. I didn't want to waste away, see everyone take pity on me. I figured, if I was going to die, I was going to make it mean something."

"I had no idea…"

"I didn't want anyone to know. We were all focused on so much."

Fred hummed.

"Well, I hear the afterlife is pretty fun."

A bell chimed and Fred stood and offered his hand.

"Shall we?"

Hermione smiled and accepted it.

They walked through the door.

~o0o~

Voldemort lay dead in the courtyard, a shriveled husk compared to the intimidating monster he was when alive. He had arrived, badly burned but alive, to scream that because Harry had killed his top Death Eaters that he would take twenty deaths in return. People began to scream and cry at the dead body in Hagrid's arms. That's when the real Harry, having been freed from his bindings by a passing Luna, showed up and dueled him. Voldemort clearly wasn't expecting him and the entire battle he was erratic, desperate, and, as a consequence, sloppy.

Harry shivered as the adrenaline left his body.

"Harry!" said Ron with a grin. "You did it! H-How did you do… that?" He gestured to the burnt copy of Harry lying on the ground.

"H-Hermione…"

"HA!" Ron slapped his leg. "She always comes up with brilliant ideas. Where is she?"

Harry lost so many people today. And now he lost one of his best friends. His shoulders shook and he dropped his head in his hands. Ron's smile faded.

"Where is she?" he repeated.

Harry shuffled over to the body and pointed with his wand. _"Reparifarge."_

The hair turned from black to brown and the features changed from masculine to feminine. He wasn't even sure the spell would work, but the shell the polyjuice provided faded away, leaving Hermione looking no more beat up than she had when she left him in the classroom.

Ron made a strangled noise and collapsed to his knees.

"Why?" he asked. "Why did she do this?"

Harry's hand went to the letter he stashed in his pocket. He withdrew it and opened it up while Ron sobbed.

_If you are reading this letter, then my disease has run its course. I'm sorry I never told you, but I didn't want to be that girl who was dying. I know many people thought I was loud, obnoxious, or even downright annoying, but I wasn't going to live my short time on earth by being what people wanted. Please donate all my books and put the money in my vault towards S.P.E.W. The box in my vault contains important items and a list of people to give them to._

_Harry, if I am dead before this war is over, you are brilliant and talented. You can win this, I know you can._

_Ron, we've fought like cats and dogs, but I would never trade a moment of it for anything. I wish we had more time._

_If you are able, I would like to be cremated and have my ashes spun into glass. This world is filled with so much ugliness, I'd like to leave a little beauty behind. I know I never seemed the type, but it is my wish._

_Don't either of you let my death get in the way of living your lives. You're strong and have a lot to live for. I believe in you._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

"I will," Harry whispered. "I promise."

~o0o~

_Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything._

C.S. Lewis


End file.
